The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1887-02-25
SCIENTIFIC AND INpUsTRIAL.

. REC-ANg u CANNEA ANANTs
Denmark is known as a remarkably
level country. Surveys OF last season
find only two points in the kingdom that
reach an elevation of $40 feet.
/ A peculiar black paper, made from
the bark o: certain trees, serves the
. Siamese and Burmese IL lieu of states.
Betel leaves are used TO erase tho
writing.
To make papier mache for fine. small
work, boil clippings Of brown OF white
paper in water, beat them into a paste,
add glue OF gum, and size and press
, into oiled molds.
/ Grsvitation on the sun is about q
/ times as great as on the earth. If the
force of gravity here we're increased to
that Of the sun we should be unable to
move 15O-pound man would then
weigh about two tons.
/ Workable and valuable deposits Of pc
trOleum have been discovered along the
Egyptian coast of the Red Sea. It
appears to have lost its more volatile
constituents, and is found at the level
of the sea beneath the recent coral for
nation along the shore.
Cold-air machinery has been success
fully used IN the construction of a
! tunnel at Stockholm bF freezing the
gravel before the excavation and keeping
it in that condition unit the lining Was
in position. In this way several large
buildings have been undermined.
s.
ing, aud $50 people are added yearly to
each 10, 900. At the present rate Of
increase, according to Dr. NJ. Tidy. the
eountrY's population 20 generations
hence will be p, ,2OU, ,OOO, 600, OF enough
to ill 20 earths with the present density
of population.
A machine has been invented which
sews on buttons. 1t is claimed that it
will perform the work Of four OF i've
girls, and will do it better, because It
never Sights its work, but puts in just
the number of stitches 1t is guaged for.
1t will sew on buttons with two OF four
holes equally well. and at the rate of six
per minute with twelve stitches in each.
Gold-leaf Is cut by placing it on a fat
clean leather pad, pressing it very gent
ly, and saving with perfectly straight
edged clean knife on split cane. The
best Dutch metal may replace the gold
leaf if perfectly smooth. The Dutch
metal may be cut between paper BY
close shearing scissors with such long
blades that each cut is made with one
motion.
From observations in various widely
separated cities, a German meteOrolOgist
snds that the yearly mean temperature
in town is from one to two degrees
higher than in the surro undIng country,
the difference seeming TO depend less
on the size of the town thBn on the sur
rouudings of the observing station.
Both the daily and the absolute fiuctua-
tions are smaller in towns than in the
open country.
A recent writer states that he senses
are not parallel in men and won en-.
The latter possess to greater perfection
of the sense of touch. The senses Of
hearing and sight are relatively the
same in both sexes, but it is considered
that men have the sense of taste more
delicately developed than woman. The
sense Of smell was, in the experiments,
made dou5ly as acute in men as in wo-
men. No reason is assigned for the
distinction.
It is difficult, says a Belgian journal,
to distinguish between iron and steel
tools. They have the same polish and
workmanship use will commonly show
the difference. Tc make the distinction
quickly, place the tool upon a stone, and
drop upon it some diluted nitric acid
{fOul parts of water to one Of acid).-
If the tool remains clean. it is Of iron
if of steel, it will show a black spot
where touched with the acid. These
spots can be essIly rubbed of.
Professor Henry E. Alverd, after sew
eral hundred observations. utteTs the
following conclusions on the formation
of dew, viz, that on clear nights the
temperature of the air four inches above
the ground is lower than four feet above
by about ten OF fifteen degrees and the
soil three inches below the surface is
always higher than at the surface itself.
The soil exhales moisture during the
night, and most of the moisture seen on
plants in the morning is tUanspired by
the plants themselves. Soil moisture
supplies a large portion of the dew.
a remarkable ind of meteoric iron
has been recently described by DR.. Gurlt,
of Bonn. This mass, which Weigs
about Is pounds. was found in a piece
of coal ABOUT to be used in a furnace.
Close examination proves t to be OF
meteoric origin, and was plunged into
the mass Of coal during its formation
in the tertiary geological epoch. It is
essen italy pure iron. with some con-
tained carbon and nickel. There are
other similar meteoTites, as the famous
masses of st. Catherine in Brazil and
Braumau in Bohemia, but this is very
much older and belongs to the tertiary
epoch.
Yet another application has been
found for metal, which is ROw being
substituted s0T cardboard il book bind
ing. This novelty is known as the
British Peliisfort'' binding, and it
consists in the use of thin sheet metal
for covers. The metal is specially PEE
pared, and the cover may be bent and
Strengthened again without peTceptt0le